Three young men from Ashfield prison and their escort/teacher, Marcel Celtel, arrived at High Heathercombe on Dartmoor at around six o'clock. I'd been waiting for this moment for 10 years.

A new man to Write to Freedom, Ryder had been let out of Ashfield for the weekend as part of his pre-release programme. The other two, Leman and Ginge, were released several months ago and have both regularly attended the workshops. Seeing them both turn up on Friday off their own bat, no pressure, fully up for it, told me the work we are doing is working.

We had a full schedule. We hassled them to get their foot-dragging acts together to get them to the meeting points on time. There were barbed comments that it was like being back in prison – a kneejerk response to us letting them know the weekend was going to be more than just hanging out with a few mates in the country. That said, it soon became clear we needed to loosen the reins a little. The last things they need at this point in their lives are more lectures and hassle to "behave".

We also wanted them to know there was a deeper reason for them being there. The whole weekend was a process of negotiating the fine line between boundaries and making sure they experienced the incredible freedom of the moors.

Leman

"I don't usually see stars like that, only helicopters. When my grandma died, I always thought she was a star in the sky. When I was out there on my own I looked up, I found a bright star and thought, 'Yeah, that must be her.'"

Telephones are a great way of not being here now. Leman had been on his phone from the moment he arrived. We agreed they could call their loved ones after dinner each day, but when we asked them not to take the phones on the "walking out alone" time, Leman was resistant, angry and vocal. No way was he giving his phone up. The ensuing discussion got pretty charged. We needed to cut the shit and head off to the moors. This was agreed. Each staff member escorted their appointed young man, talking and walking them to their chosen spot in the wild: two on the moors, one in the woods. They could turn back any time they liked. Leman agreed to leave his phone behind.

The following day, Marcel told me Leman had apologised to him for "fucking around" the night before. I've met a lot of fully fledged adults unable to apologise for a lot less. I told Leman I was proud of him.

Ginge

"It was mad out there on my own, sitting on a slab of rock looking at the sunset. I liked it. I reckon I know what I need to help me get where I'm going: it's love. From my family, my girl and my mates."

I took Ryder up to the highest point of the moor. He ran ahead, found a spot and sat down. When I caught up with him, the sun was setting in an orange and red blaze. It stunned us both into silence.

Ryder

"You cooked the best chilli I've eaten, mate, better than the shit I get in prison. And that view down there, 'cross them fields, best I've ever seen."

The silence was eventually broken by Ryder pointing suspiciously at a sheep and telling me it was giving him the evil eye.

Working with young offenders in and out of prison can be tremendously difficult: challenging, frightening, disheartening, exhausting. It can also be deeply rewarding. The work has moved me to tears many times. Now that the 10-year journey to leading my first wilderness weekend is complete, I asked myself if it's time to draw a line under this work, and move on to something else. Have I served my time and finally paid my dues?

The ease I felt this weekend, the loose but focused leadership style I adopted, produced an unexpected result: I feel more at home with my role than ever. I'm right for the job. It's taken a long time to feel relaxed, ready and able to lead these young men out of their urban jungles into the wild country, and they're up for it. They've been important teachers, and reminders of where I was at their age. They have wise minds, beyond their years. Their tough lives have forced them to grow up, as I did, too fast, in too many directions. Sometimes I'm astonished at their sharpness of attention, wit and wisdom. And other times I'm reminded that they're still teenagers, with the natural fears of children. I am very proud of them all. And to top it off, after all the resistance, they've said they want to come back to the moors again - with us.